Leandro Barbosa

The Warriors are taking a flyer on Barbosa, who wasn't in the NBA to start the 2013-14 season but finished up the season with Phoenix. He played 20 minutes and averaged 7.5 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 18 minutes per game. Barbosa is familiar with both head coach ...

Barbosa scored double-digit points for the third straight game in Tuesday night's win over the Kings. He scored 12 points (4-of-9 FG, 2-of-4 3Pt, 2-of-2 FT) with three rebounds, five assists and three steals in 22 minutes.

The eight-year, 29-year-old out of Brazil spent the summer and elongated off-season playing in his home country. This was a plus for Toronto, as he remained in good shape. If he can stay healthy this year, something he hasn’t been able to do for the past three seasons (missing 62 games over the last two), he’ll be a solid contributor off the bench for the Raptors. Something to think about - he’s arguably the most talented player on the roster, yet between his fragile-body and the fact that he doesn’t really fit into the Raptors’ young developing core, he doesn’t really project to have much fantasy value. Barbosa did put up 13.3 ppg, 1.7 rpg and 2.1 apg last season, so his offence was helpful, but don’t be surprised if Colangelo trades Barbosa this season.

2010-11

Barbosa has a rather similar profile to that of Ben Gordon. Both will turn 28 during this season. Both are undersized (6-3) shooting guards. Both are skilled outside shooters with three-point rates right about 40 percent. Both contribute minimally in rebounding, assists and elsewhere. And, finally, both might ultimately come up short as reasonable fantasy options, as neither is likely to play the requisite minutes. Or, at least, that's been the case with Barbosa. In mid-July, Barbosa was traded to the Raptors for Hedo Turkoglu, giving Barbosa a clear-ish shot at Toronto's starting lineup. But again, as with Gordon, coaches feel understandably uncomfortable about Barbosa's defense at the two, likely leaving the Brazilian with little room for error in terms of fantasy production. Couple these concerns with Barbosa's injury history, and it's probably best to consider him a wait-and-see option in all but deeper leagues.

2009-10

Barbosa is another player that will flourish under coach Alvin Gentry’s newly implemented run-‘n’-gun system. Of all the players on the Suns roster, he was clearly the biggest beneficiary from the switch in offensive philosophies – In the 46 games under former head coach Terry Porter, Barbosa averaged 12.8 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.2 treys, and 1.0 steal. His numbers improved dramatically across the board when Gentry took over to the tune of 16.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.5 treys and 1.6 steals. That was good for top-25 production during that stretch, tied in per-game value with the likes of Jose Calderon and Chauncey Billups. Now it’s a bit farfetched to suggest Barbosa will be as good as those two this season, but it does show that he should produce under the current system. A glimpse at his season averages over the past three seasons may suggest he’s decline, but that could not be further from the truth. Barbosa has big-time upside this season.

2008-09

Barbosa came into his own in ’06-’07, using his incredible quickness and aggressive scoring mentality to bring home the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award. Unfortunately, he took a step back in ’07-08. Barbosa is a combo guard who plays off the ball as a pure shooter/scorer when he plays next to Steve Nash, but when Nash goes to the bench Barbosa gets to run the offense. Barbosa flies down the court with the ball in his hands, and with his deadly long-range jumper he’s able to set up a shot whenever he wants. He’s not quite big enough to play shooting guard full time, however, which keeps him in the sixth man/scorer-off-the-bench role and limits his minutes.

2007-08

Originally drafted as a point guard, Barbosa has become an important piece of the Suns’ recent teams at both guard spots. He is aggressive attacking the basket and can shoot from all ranges. Though he was primarily a bench player last season, Barbosa was among the league-leaders in 3-point attempts and percentage and averaged 18.1 points per game. The addition of Grant Hill could impact Barbosa some, but how can coach Mike D’Antoni keep him off the court? Hill could get most of his minutes at small forward as Boris Diaw and Shawn Marion help replace Kurt Thomas (Seattle) on the front line.

2006-07

Barbosa came back slowly from an early injury, and probably lost some playing time as the Suns were flowing with the pieces they had in place. Still, he logged 27.9 minutes per game, and is one of the NBA's most dynamic, exciting scorers off the bench. He will be given plenty of opportunities this year, especially after his dazzling performance with the Brazilian National Team in the World Basketball Championship.

2005-06

Barbosa enters the season second on the depth chart at point guard behind NBA MVP Steve Nash. While Barbosa struggled to lead the team to many victories during Nash's midseason absence due to injury, by year's end he played very well off the bench.
While certainly not a star, Barbosa contributed a good field goal percentage (47.5%) and decent three-point shooting (36.7%) last season while scoring 7.9 points per game and adding two assists and 2.1 rebounds per game. The restructuring of the Suns' starters shouldn't weigh heavily on Barbosa's game, as he typically runs with second team players.

2004-05

Barbosa finished last season as the starting point guard after the team unloaded Stephon Marbury. He grew into the position last season, but is not yet a Steve Nash. He averaged 26.9 minutes per game after the All-Star break last season, but with the deep guard rotation, he’ll be hard pressed to get 20 this year. That might be enough for him to have value as a 3-point guy (39.5%, 3.0 3PA/game, 21.4 mpg in 2003-04). He will continue to develop his game as the primary backup to Nash, but can you remember who backed up Nash in Dallas? Neither can we.

2003-04

An excellent three-point shooter who also is adept at penetrating to the basket, Barbosa is known as a great competitor. In the Brazilian league, Barbosa averaged 28.2 points, seven assists, and four rebounds in about 37 minutes per game in 2002. The Suns would like Barbosa to evolve into their backup point guard behind Stephon Marbury.